Category: Musings
Should donkeys be tolerated at the top?
I was inspired to write on this topic for various reasons. Before I proceed further, let me warn you that these are the thoughts of a person who is viewing the whole scenario through a simple eye – no complicated management techniques or analysis have been used to deduce whatever has been deduced.
First, the definition of a donkey – an animal that has resigned to the fate that it is meant to slog and carry burden. Have you ever looked at a donkey? There lies no hope or excitement in those eyes, except for the tired resolution to work harder and harder, as the master puts more and more burden on it. Absolutely no desire to quit or change the drudgery, either. You feel bad at its fate and wonder why it can’t just run away. The only time you see excitement is when the master canes it. Oh! then there is an instant jump..the eyes open up..you can hear some braying and strange noises. You might think this is it!. The donkey is about to break itself free ..but that is where you are mistaken. The fraction-of-a-minute excitement suddenly dies down as soon as the canning stops, and the donkey is back to the normal, ‘very hard working’ life.
Now, what happens when a donkey like this happens to be your boss? A dangerous situation because he is in the process of creating many more donkeys. He knows very well a human mind cannot resist pressure and will soon succumb to it..the same way his mind had succumbed.
In our day-today-life, we come across many such people. We hear them brag of working unenviable hours, neglecting families, ignoring health and most of all stressing on the fact that they have mind space only for their job. What is worse, they expect everyone to be like them. How good is this and how successful are such people? Do they, at any given point in time, know what they want? Are they simply intelligent, or are intelligent and street smart, or are they none of these? Are they actually fit enough to hold whatever position they are holding? Are they sadists? Who are they and should they be tolerated?
Who are they?
They may be –
a) Those who are not clear about their goals and how to achieve them.
b) Those who may believe in planning but not in a structured manner
c) Very abrupt in nature – believing something at one point and another at the next instant
d) Slaves to situations and circumstances
e) They may be sadists
f) Highly ambitious – wants to achieve something even if it is not humanely possible. This, I consider is the strongest point that makes a donkey out of a human, where you start believing in working harder and harder to achieve it.
Should they be tolerated?
Of course, if they are at the top they might as well be tolerated. Because this is India and this is how Indians work. Indians are very open to accepting their fate – whatever form they may be. If the boss has all the above-mentioned qualities, is there anything much that you can do? No. Go ahead and change the company and become wiser of the fact that you left one dhobi ghat for another and the previous master at least had a smaller cane.
After changing many ghats and happy at the thought that you have rebelled and not succumbed to fate, you realize you have actually reached the top. Your promotion has just happened. You walk into your cabin and you sit on the chair. Elated is how you can describe yourself then. Easing back, you smile and slowly pick up your tail and place it carefully on the arm of the chair. Hey, when did this grow? Yet you are happy. You look at your reflection, your long ears, those hopeless, lifeless eyes, and the very huge burden on your back..hey, when did this happen? Oh! I can analyze it later, let me enjoy the moment now, my moment, you think. You smile. You are extremely happy.
So, this is it guys. You might as well tolerate them. Even if you don’t, you end up tolerating them anyway.
Shame on Eureka Forbes – Pathetic Customer Service
I bought the Aquaguard Enhanced RO Water purification system on August 8th last year. It was the New Aquaguard Smart Total with AMPX sweetness and Nano Fresh technology. I was quite happy with the product because it converted my ‘very’ hard water to perfect mineral water. Looked like my water woes were over.
But by July end this year, trouble began when the taste of the water started getting saltier. This happened despite the machine being serviced and cleaned thoroughly. I registered a complaint with the office nearest to me. They sent a technician who said the filter needs to be replaced – an unexpected expenditure within a year. Was it just a tactic to meet their monthly sales targets of filters and membranes?
Even if skeptical, I got the filter changed. The technician left. In the evening, the RO started making strange noises. I registered another complaint. After few days another technician came – I explained the whole problem – he said the pump needed to be replaced and that fell under the warranty period. I agreed. Then, he told me that TDS level in the water purified by the RO was still high, despite the filter being replaced. This meant changing the membrane. By now, I just wanted the RO to work so I told him change whatever he wanted to.
He said he would order both pump and the membrane from the main office. That took another two to three days – both were replaced. He left. But later the RO again started making sounds and the taste was the same. I was beginning to lose my cool by now.
I tried calling up the office to register another complaint. Now, let me tell you – whenever you are registering a complaint, you don’t get through the office numbers or the helpline number in one shot. This time, along with the complaint, I wanted to complain about the services as well. The technicians are very hard working. They came to my house several times and spent hours repairing the machine. But the problem persisted. Either they lacked expertise or the there was something horribly wrong with the recruitment process at Eureka Forbes or they were not paying them well.
With the outcome being a big Nothing, I felt I was simply wasting my time over the services provided by Eureka Forbes.
I was getting very irritated and frustrated. I began procuring drinking water from the market. It was actually a mental trauma. I was frustrated at the fact that despite me wasting so much time registering complaints, the problem just wouldn’t get solved. I called up the “supposedly HO” in Delhi and registerd a complaint. The next time I called up to follow up, the guard picked up to say no one was in the office. Now, how is this possible? On a week day, the entire office was empty? Tried calling up the Helpline which did not work. Tried calling up the Bombay office but could’nt get through. By now, it was nearly a month that my RO was not working.
Then once again I went back to the office near my house. I asked them to send a senior technician, who came home two hours later than the prescribed time – spoiling my plans that day. Anyway, I was now quite used to it.
He asked for a week’s time, which was supposed to be yessterday. He never got back – yesterday nor today. I finally gave him a call today. He said whatever spare part he had ordered has still not been delivered from HO. Then what had he done for a week?
I may have talked about technicians here but i think the actual problem lies with the company. I hold them at fault for providing such pathetic customer service.
I am not a person who loses my cool often but this time, I did. I dont know whether my RO will ever get repaired but one thing is for sure, I will never buy a Eureka Forbes product ever again nor recommend it.
As I write this, I am still frustrated. I am trying to get in touch with the HO in Mumabi so that they are shown a mirror as to how their customers are suffering.
Who should be in charge of segregation and protection of data generated via Social Media networks?
When I was attending the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) Best Practices Meet for Data protection – a Nasscom initiative on Thursday, a colleague sounded that protection of Social Media data is of equal or higher importance as any other data being handled by corporate houses, financial institutions, hospitals, etc. This had me wondering – is it necessary to protect all the data emerging out of the Social Media space? Considering the amount of frivolous data being generated on networking sites, shouldn’t they be segregated? Now, I am not ignoring the fact networking sites are generating useful data and are emerging as invaluable marketing tools. But still, who would be in charge of segregation and protection? A tweet like – my dog burped or an I am drinking coffee status on Face book. Do we need to protect them all? Would it follow a similar process as that is being designed for the outsourcing industry – which was the focus of the Meet – India a secure destination for outsourcing.
When this question was posed, Dr Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO DSCI replied the entire onus lay on the shoulders of the network from where it has originated – meaning social media networks like FaceBook, Myspace, Youtube, Twitter are individually responsible for the data generated on these platforms.
But shouldn’t the responsibility be with the people rather? It is they who are generating the data and they should be responsible for the same – it is they who should decide what needs to be stored and what to be ignored. For example, a data fed by a person on a social media network in a fit of anger or depression can come to haunt him years later when even he would have forgotten that such a data existed. Under such circumstances, what can he do? Who can be held responsible for the leakage of such a data – definitely not the platform from where it has originated. Because their privacy terms and conditions make it very clear that they would be storing the data. This brings me back to another point – How many of us in India actually read the terms and conditions before clicking on the I Accept button?
I feel the social media data storage and protection is entirely a different ball game. Unlike the outsourcing industry, where stress is on how secure and protected the data is, on social media, the stress should be on what data is being secured and protected.
There can be debates and discussions on this, but as a Social Media enthusiast trying to strike a balance between the real and the virtual world, I feel, till the time a solution to this issue is found, the people should use Social Media platforms very responsibly – they need to treat the virtual world as they would the real world – after all real people exist in the virtual world.
Outlook of Indian economy in the global economic scenario
Recession – the dreaded subject the world is talking about. Be it commodities getting costlier or travelling becoming expensive despite fall in oil prices, pink slips being rampant – the blame is on Recession. Is recession in India actually as bad as it has been made out to be?
Last year as recession dealt heavy blows to the global economy marking an end to an era of cheap money, developed countries slowed down on consumer spending. They also registered huge job losses and investment meltdown. This had an impact on emerging economies like India, where fall in demand led to dip in exports. Forex reserves declined by $56 billion. Rupee depreciated by 20% making exports expensive. Slowdown in foreign investments had adverse effect on liquidity and investments too. The stock indices showed BSE registering a fall of 54.5% at 9,647 from its peak of 21,206 in 2008.
However, despite this economic slowdown, India is expected to do a GDP growth of 6-7% in 2009-10. This is lower than the 9.7% in 2006 and 9% in 2007, but when compared to industrial countries and emerging markets, it is the second highest after China. According to reports by leading venture capitalists, India is holding on well as compared to other emerging countries, especially the other two BRIC nations – Brazil and Russia.
India, being a consumer driven country, has a very big advantage – the large working force. A study by Nomura Research Institute Asian Perspective shows that over 50 crore people are below the age of 30 and those between the age group of 20-59 will grow in next few years to give demographic dividend. These groups will fuel higher demands and growth leading to rise in household incomes, in turn leading to more savings and ultimately to a higher GDP. Currently, household income contributes 68% to the total savings that make up for 38.4% of GDP. This signifies that it will not be long before India recovers from this economic crisis.
A study conducted by AC Nielsen suggests that 83% believe the economy will get better in the next year. Overall, the mood is optimistic but till the time India actually gains back economic momentum, Indians will have to exhibit a certain amount of resilience.
Indo-US relations under Obama administration
When Barack Obama was declared the US President-elect in November, India lauded the victory and exuded confidence that Indo-US relations will scale newer heights.
Looking Back
It was the end of the Cold War that put India in the good books of the US. The relationship started gaining momentum under Bill Clinton and accelerated under George Bush. The signing of the nuclear deal last year took the bilateral relation to its apogee. However, two months after Obama took over the White Office, there are mixed reactions over the relationship.
The K word
One of the biggest concerns is the US intervention in the Kashimr issue, where Obama had hinted on employing Bill Clinton as a special envoy. While India has always maintained it is a bilateral issue and will be resolved without any outside interference, the fact that it is a 60 year old persistent problem does not help. US does not seem very confident that the two countries can amicably resolve it on their own and so will put pressure on India to agree to US intervention. How would India react to it then?
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Obama is likely to pursue the non-proliferation treaty before US aids Indian civilian nuclear facilities. This will put India in a tight spot as the treaty would restrict India from indulging in any nuclear tests. What would India do then?
Outsourcing
India is very worried about Obama’s policies regarding outsourcing. The USD 787 billion stimulus plan which makes it very difficult for US companies to outsource work, or the recent opposition to bring in nurses from other countries to fill the gap in US are doing nothing to ease India’s worries. What is in store for India?
Free Trade
Where will US’s insistence on a free trade agreement with India, where the latter has been opposing the huge subsidies US government has been providing to agriculture, lead to?
These concerns are genuine. In a bid to revive US economy, the Obama administration will get aggressive and take decisions which they feel deem fit. India needs to watch out for every such move, cautiously oppose few if necessary and take decisions accordingly. Meanwhile, US needs to adopt a softer stand. After all, it cannot ignore India’s growth as an economic power and cordial strategic relations with India is bound to mutually benefit both the nations.